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From the Ground Up 

Wine people say that wine is made in the vineyard. You can make bad wine out of good grapes, but it is hard to make great wine out of mediocre raw material. Wine is one of the few consumer products with such a tight connection to time and place. If you read the front and back labels closely, you will often discover where the wine grapes were grown—sometimes down to particular vineyard blocks—as well as who made the wine, how, and when. That’s more specific information than you get for almost any other quotidian consumer good. 

Wine starts in the vineyards, so we start our tour with Dick Boushey ’73, widely recognized as one of the most important wine growers in Washington State and one of the most respected wine professionals in America. You won’t find Boushey wine on store shelves because he doesn’t make wine. He’s a farmer. But you will find his name in the fine print of many of Washington’s best wines, which are made from the grapes that he tends. 

Boushey is especially recognized for his contributions to sustainable wine growing. There is more than one way to grow grapes. Conventional viticulture uses a variety of chemical tools to fight insects and disease in grape production, for example. Organic viticulture takes a “do no harm” approach by limiting the types and quantities of chemicals involved. Sustainable viticulture is a broader concept that takes other factors into account depending upon local or regional conditions and priorities. The goal is to produce good fruit from healthy vines in sustainable, resilient environments, something that is especially important in a time of climate change. 

Tom Hedges ’73 is well known for this at Hedges Family Estates winery on Red Mountain. Visitors love the wine and are captivated by the beautiful chateau and expansive vistas while they enjoy the great wine. My wife, Sue, and I pay special attention to the vineyards, too, because Hedges practices a form of farming called biodynamics. It was invented by the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, the creator of the Waldorf education style. Biodynamic viticulture aims to go beyond “do no harm” by actively energizing healthy natural processes; it draws upon traditional practices such as aligning farming practices with phases of the moon and spraying the vines with special organic preparations. Healthy vines, healthy wines, healthy environment—these are the goals of biodynamic viticulture at Hedges and in a growing number of outstanding vineyards around the world. 

Regenerative agriculture is the leading edge in farming today, and you won’t be surprised that our alumni are working in this field, too. Regenerative agriculture is a holistic approach to farming that fosters healthy soil, ecosystems, and communities. Regenerative practices foster biodiversity and living organisms literally from the ground up, and they support a healthy balance of nature that often seems too hard to find in today’s unbalanced world. Calla Rose Ostrander ’05 is a leading figure in the movement through her work with Terra Regenerative Capital, an impact fund channeling investment into regenerative farming projects.

In the Winery 

Grapes really want to be wine. In fact, the native yeasts that are needed to start fermentation naturally cling to the grape skins. If you just leave the grapes alone, you will get wine. Or you will get vinegar. Science and attention to detail are needed to make good grapes into good wine. So perhaps it is fitting that some science alumni have found their calling making wine. Biology major Alison Frichtl Hollister ’04, for example, is senior winemaker for Hall Family Wines in Napa Valley. Physics major Stewart Boedecker ’90 makes wine at his Boedecker Cellars in Portland. 

David Rosenthal ’01 majored in biology and has made wine in Washington, Oregon, California, Australia, and New Zealand. He was the head white wine maker at Chateau Ste. Michelle for many years and is now principal at Partnership Wine Consulting, where he advises some of the Northwest’s best wineries. 

Our alumni show that while a science degree is useful in winemaking, it is not a necessary requirement. Forensic sociology student Joe Davis ’82, for example, was inspired when he tasted a particular wine while working part-time at a local wine shop. That started him down the road that led to his founding Arcadian Winery on California’s Central Coast. Chuck Reininger ’82 studied business and marketing and then went “to the heights” as a mountain guide before founding Reininger Winery and Helix Wines in Walla Walla, Wash., with his wife Tracy Tucker ’81. 

The Business of Wine 

There is a joke in the wine business: How do you make a small fortune in wine? Easy. Start with a large one. Making great wine is sometimes not enough to make a successful winery. Business skills and entrepreneurial instincts are important, too.

The business side of wine has become more challenging—and therefore more important—in recent years as costs have risen throughout the supply chain; at the same time, consumers have become hesitant to pay more because they are squeezed by high interest rates and inflation pressures generally. A successful wine business needs to combine good wine with sound business practices. 

Michael Corliss ’82 is one of my favorite wine business examples. Corliss didn’t start out to make wine. He started out drinking wine, which evolved into collecting wine. Before too long, he had a vineyard and then a winery, too. Today Michael and Lauri Corliss’ wine businesses include vineyards in Walla Walla, Red Mountain, the Columbia Valley, and the Columbia Gorge, plus the Corliss Estates, Tranche Cellars, Secret Squirrel wines, and San Juan Vineyards wineries. In addition, they also operate Walla Walla Wine Services, a custom crush and wine bottling business that assists others with winemaking needs, helping spur the growth of the Washington industry.

Amanda Reynvaan ’00 also works in Walla Walla wine. She is director of operations at her family’s highly rated Reynvaan Family Vineyards. She is also a co-owner of Result of a Crush Winery, which she started with her sister Angela Reynvaan Garratt. 

Several other Puget Sound alumni focus on the business side of wine. Skylar Stuck ’83, for example, pivoted from an economics career to the world of wine in California’s Central Coast region, helping to guide Bonny Doon Vineyard, Halter Ranch Winery, and Hope Family Wines. He is now director of sales and operations at Hearst Ranch Winery. I remember Devinder (Dev) Sidhu ’94 from my international economics class at Puget Sound. His career in wine included work as a manager for direct wine sales at Cakebread Cellars. He is currently director at Valley Wine Warehouse, a company that provides important services to the wine industry in Napa, Calif.

Telling Wine’s Story 

Sue and I believe that wine is good— and good for you in moderation—but wine with a story is much better. The wines we remember best are those attached to particular people, places, and occasions. Another of my favorite sayings is that water keeps us apart, but wine brings us together. 

Perhaps this is one reason why the business of selling wine has become about storytelling, creating narratives that resonate with consumers. The ability to connect is key, and it is probably one of the things that Jean-Charles Boisset saw in Puget Sound grad Patrick Egan ’03. Egan is now senior vice president for marketing and communications for the Boisset Collection, telling the stories of historic California wineries that include Buena Vista, DeLoach, and Napa Valley’s Raymond Vineyards. Egan says he is fortunate to work with two other Loggers: Lisa Heisinger ’99, the CEO of Boisset, and Ingrid Greiser ’07, the vice-president of sales for Flora Springs Winery, which is now owned by Jean- Charles Boisset as well. 

The best stories are first-person tales, so it is no surprise that wines are pivoting from just selling products to creating experiences for their followers to enjoy and share with others. At Boedecker Cellars in Portland, Stewart Boedecker ’90 and his wife Athena Pappas have found ways to bring people to the winery for fun, food, and wine. The same is true of Fielding Hills winery in Chelan, Washington. The family of Robin Wade Hansen ’09 recently celebrated their wine’s 25th vintage. Fielding Hills was the first winery I wrote about when I started the Wine Economist newsletter, so Hansen and her family are a foundational part of my personal wine story. 

Wine tourism has grown in popularity and importance as wine lovers seek out new experiences. John Oppenheimer ’80 and his Columbia Hospitality Group saw the opportunity to bring their talents to the Walla Walla wine region by offering wine tourists and others elevated experiences at The Finch on Main Street, the historic Marcus Whitman Hotel, and the Inn at Abeja, an award-winning winery. 

My former student Jim Thomssen ’84 went into banking when he graduated from Puget Sound, but he caught the wine bug soon after. He now serves as an Idaho Wine Ambassador, contributor to Great Northwest Wine magazine, and a wine experience creator in his role as wine specialist with National Geographic/Lindblad Expeditions for their Columbia River cruises. Thomssen is not alone in creating Idaho wine experiences. Maggie Van Weele ’18 is the event and general manager at Telaya Wine Co., one of my favorite wineries in the Gem State. Michelle Kofman ’21 didn’t know that she was interested in wine until she took Professor Pierre Ly’s Idea of Wine class during her senior year (to learn more about this course, see Classes for a Changing World). Suddenly, wine and its ability to connect with people was the obvious career path for Kofman. She found herself working at Jordan Winery in California’s Alexander Valley, which is known for its hospitality program. Before long she moved to her current job where she is associate manager for brand activation and experiences for Northern California for Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, the famous French wine and luxury goods company. 

Why Wine? 

The stories I have told so far really only scratch the surface of Puget Sound alumni in the wine industry. And we haven’t even talked about all of the alumni who enjoy wine and wine tourism. The question you’ve got to be asking yourself is: What’s the deal with wine? Puget Sound doesn’t have a class on wine grape growing, and I don’t think there has ever been a wine making course, either. In fact, I don’t think there was a wine-related course of any sort offered until 2008, when I taught the first “Idea of Wine” class to a roomful of enthusiastic seniors. How is it that so many of our students have gravitated to wine? 

There are many ways to answer this question, and, in fact, I expect that you’ve already thought of a few theories yourself. My contribution is this: The kinds of skills and sensibilities that we develop in a liberal arts college like the �������� are also the ones that are most valuable in wine. 

This isn’t my theory. I learned it from a campus recruiter. A representative of a very large wine company used to show up at my office door once a year while I was on the faculty (I retired from teaching in 2013). “Tell me about your students,” he’d say. He was looking for young people with room to grow— students with energy, creativity, problem- solving skills, leadership, and the ability to communicate effectively. These qualities are hallmarks of a liberal arts education. I would suggest a few names to him, and almost every year he would hire one or more Puget Sound students for a fast-track program. 

By and large, the students would work for a few years, gain skills and experience, and move on to the next stage of their careers. But some of them stayed for long enough to leave a mark on the company and the wine business. 

The very large wine company is Gallo and one of those students was Steve Emery ’87, who audaciously led Gallo’s invasion of the European wine markets. Today he is CEO of Earth2O, a bottled water company based in Bend, Ore. Another was Jeremy Soine ’96, who helped build Gallo’s Barefoot Cellars wines into America’s top brand. Today, he is CEO of Face Reality Skincare. 

The qualities that made these and other students successful in the wine industry continue to serve them well in their careers and lives today. It’s clear that Puget Sound students learn how to learn, which prepares them for all sorts of career paths—even wine.

The Arches team knows there are many more alumni who have worked or are currently working in the wine industry. In addition to the Loggers included in Mike Veseth’s story, over the years we’ve heard from other alumni in our Class Notes pages and in the community, including: 

Jason Morin ’95, a winemaker and owner of Ancestry Cellars in Washington. He started his journey to winemaking by helping his grandparents make wine in their basement. 

Peggy Patterson ’73, a founder and co-owner of Hoodsport Winery. She was named a “Great Women of Washington Wine” in March 2025. 

Holden Sapp ’10, a specialist in wine guiding and education who has been involved in parts of the Napa and Sonoma wine industry for his entire career. 

Martin Sparks ’85, the director of engineering for WineBid, a global online auction for fine and rare wines. 

Gabriel Vergez ’18, who recently started as assistant tasting room manager and warehouse manager at Obelisco Winery in Woodinville, Wash. He works with Loggers David Walzer ’86 and David Rosenthal ’01. 

If you are working in this industry and would like to be added to our online story, please email the editor at arches@pugetsound.edu, and we’ll add your name. Cheers!